The Senators were short-handed just once against the Bruins on Thursday — after a Mark Borowiecki tripping call on David Krejci 9:19 into the game — and they could only survive the first 1:18 of the penalty before Drew Stafford opened the scoring.

They wound up with a 2-1 shootout victory because they managed to stay out of the box the rest of the night.

What has happened to the Senators short-handed game? They were ranked among the top 10 in the category through the first half of the season, and now their PK is 22nd (before Thursday) in the league.

If Guy Boucher and his coaching staff had the answers, they’d probably fix the problem. In the meantime, they could have given Colin White his second NHL game Thursday night, in his home town.

White could have replaced one of the slumping short-handed specialists.

FAR AWAY EYES: During his first intermission interview on TSN, Senators GM Pierre Dorion casually slipped in the fact Marc Methot skated earlier in the day and included him in the group of injured players (Bobby Ryan, Zack Smith) that will be back for the playoffs. This, of course, is big news for Ottawa. And Erik Karlsson … Cody Ceci went from “out until the playoffs” to playing a team-high 22:57 in Game 80. Maybe he had the help of a witch doctor, and maybe the Senators weren’t being completely honest about his ETA to the lineup … Ben Harpur gave the puck away to the only guy on the ice bigger than him (Zdeno Chara), but Craig Anderson could have bailed him out by playing Drew Stafford’s wraparound better on the B’s goal. Anderson was solid the rest of the night, making 28 saves and three more in the shootout. But he also continued his streak of giving up a bad goal per game.

IDLE THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS: Clarke MacArthur played seven shifts (4:09) in the initial period (as opposed to five in the opening 20 Tuesday) and had a scoring chance on his first shift. The second time he was on the ice, MacArthur got away with a spear that put John Michael-Liles on the ice … MacArthur played just three shifts and 2:05 in the second period, but had lots of energy and created another chance when he was out there. He wound up with 11:15 of ice time on the night and appeared to take another step forward to being his old self … Wearing a big smile when regulation time expired was Daniel Alfredsson, who sat beside Dorion and patted him on the back. Did Alfie really think they were going to fall short of their goal by failing to pick up a point in the last three games? Probably not … What the department of player safety meant to say when suspending Brad Marchand: “Now that the Bruins have clinched a playoff spot, we’re going to do them a favour by resting one of their best players for two meaningless games.” Nice of the department, wasn’t it?

C’EST WHAT? Dorion answered with an emphatic “nope” when TSN’s Brent Wallace asked him if he was concerned about Karlsson’s right foot injury. “We hope to have Erik back for the weekend,” he said. “If he’s able to skate (Friday), we’ll feel good about it.” OK then … Hearing the spontaneous “Let’s go, Bruins” chant that erupted in the third period reminded you how quiet and uninvolved Senators fans are at the Canadian Tire Centre … Bruins fans booed when their team didn’t even bother to try to crack the Ottawa trap in the final minute. Good fans voice their displeasure, too …. Mark Stone’s goal-less drought has reached a very concerning 14 games at a time of the season during which he usually excels. Stone dinged the crossbar with an early first period chance, but he didn’t really threaten to score again until OT.

TAKING NUMBERS: Filling in for Marchand, Frank Vatrano had five of Boston’s 15 shots on goal in the first period … After going 17-0 in the circles his previous game, Patrice Bergeron was 3-3 in the first period and 6-4 on the night … Harpur played 7:19 in the first and just under nine minutes in the second. Through two periods, he had the most ice time on the team, and he wound up with 22:53, second-most among Senators after Ceci. Harpur probably won’t be in the lineup when the Senators start the playoffs, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing if he was.

BUTT ENDS: With the speed Viktor Stalberg was going and the force that Adam McQuaid drove his head into the boards, the Senators should have another hole in their lineup. Wonder if the referees even considered giving McQuaid a penalty … The Bruins lost their Karlsson when Torey Krug exited with a lower body injury early in the first period … Ryan Dzingel did the smart thing when Chara skated at him to finish off the scuffle they had started in front of the net. He buried his head in the big man’s chest and held on to him … It’s now imperative the Senators stay out of the wild-card spot and avoid a matchup with the Washington Capitals. Otherwise, their chances of advancement are nil.

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